Nigeria, Oct. 9 -- As Nigeria inches toward the 2027 presidential election, the country's political scene is already beginning to stir. Conversations in corridors of power, strategy sessions in party offices, and quiet negotiations across the geopolitical zones, reveal that the race for Aso Rock has begun long before the official campaign season starts. What is becoming evident, however, is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has gradually consolidated a powerful advantage, reshaping the terrain in ways that will make his reelection bid difficult to stop.

The arc of this story began immediately after his victory in 2023. Tinubu inherited a country fatigued by economic stagnation and weighed down by costly policies that had survived for deca...